Fickle Lines
by sakanascales876
Summary: AU: Everything had a double meaning, now. Especially whatever Serena said. A brief one-shot between Moon and Venus.


Happy April Fools, guys!

I'm sorry to have appeared dead these past couple of months, but I finally thought of something to put out. Now, this isn't one of my regular drabbles. This one in particular is very difficult for me to share. In my mind...I've always sort of pictured the SM world to be a _lot_ different. Much darker, and more..._real_ to me.  
>This one deals with a very complex relationship that I've always connected between Moon and Venus (not slash, guys). If you read it, and you're like, WTF IS THIS GIRL ON? don't worry; it's not supposed to make sense at this moment. It's really only a glimpse into this world...an experiment of characters, really. Don't expect Sailor Moon to be normal...at all.<p>

I've always debated on whether or not to post this, but I finally came to a conclusion. If you read this, and feel that this story should be continued, elaborated, ect., let me know. If you read this and think, nu-uh, she _cannot_ do this to Sailor Moon and she should just stick with her normal fluff, then also let me know. However, no flames, please.

This is the way that I've seen the SM world for the past 4-5 years...it would definitely by Usa/Mamo, of course. Updates would be random, as I aspire to get Standing Aside (which has its next chapter currently being edited, so thank you guys for being so patient) out of the way. But personally, it would be much easier for me to write.

I'm just gonna leave this to you guys. And remember, if you don't understand it, you're not supposed to, really. Oh, and this isn't a first chapter. It's sort of a little separate drabble-like thing.

Don't own Sailor Moon, never have, never will.

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><p><strong>Fickle Lines<strong>

by sakanascales876

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><p><strong>I. <strong>

"Mina, you've got the pace up higher than usual."

The surprise that slipped onto her face was not even concealed; it had been quite a while since she had bothered to hide it. Emotions, she found, remained the same…as did the piercing stare that went along with being found out.

"You're going to burn out quickly at that rate," the monotonous voice continued. It was almost amusing, Mina noted to herself, that even though her leader was running on her treadmill at a speed greater than that of a moving car, her words hadn't chopped up once.

Perhaps she could manage that, as well.

"I'm just push-ing my-self to high-er lim-its…like you al-ways say to do," she rasped, frowning at her failure. Her machine wasn't even set to half to speed of Serena's, and she was panting like she had just run a ten kilometer race.

"If I told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?"

By then, Mina had already set her pace back to her normal speed: a steady run. To her, it was like a jog, but to regular people it would have been the equivalent to a constant sprint.

She tried not to show it, but she was thrown by Serena's words. It was just a rhetorical question; she was even sure that she had heard amusement laced in her tone, but it made her wary. To her, everything had gained a double meaning. _Especially_ whatever Serena said. Whether it was a statement about the weather or a simple inquiry of her wellbeing, Mina knew that she had to tread wisely.

"Would you?" She could hear the normal severity of her leader's voice resurfacing.

Her answer was quick. "Depends."

Serena continued to run, but Mina heard her give out a slight laugh.

"I see," she stated, her gaze concentrated on the wall in front of her. Mina fixed her own on her feet; a sure sign of weakness, she knew, but an effective way to conceal her eyes.

An effective way to conceal her thoughts.

She had come to almost hate talking to Serena anymore. Her princess, the girl she respected more than anything…Mina would always remain loyal, even when the other Senshi would step into the picture once they were found. She was Venus. She was the leader.

But Serena…Serena was something else. She would pick apart _anything_ and strategize _everything_ to their or her own benefit. She could solve a solution so quickly that it almost seemed like she had planned the entire thing out. And then the coin flipped, and the cold-hearted, ruthless warrior turned into a normal, sweet teenage girl who could befriend _anyone_ and smooth talk her way out of any situation.

If Mina was truly leader of the Guardian Senshi, wasn't _she_ supposed to be more like that?

"If I told you to kill me, would you do it?"

Grace of a swan, her mum had always said about her. However, Mina had never known a swan to be able to trip and fly off the back of a treadmill as quickly as she could.

Serena stopped running and allowed herself to slowly step down from her machine, standing over Mina with her eyebrows furrowed.

"You alright?"

Mina was back on her feet within a second. "Yes, I'm fine. Just had a bit of a nasty fall…"

"Because of what I said."

With anyone else, Mina would have feigned dumb and insisted, 'I didn't hear you say anything.' However, she must have already looked pretty stupid in the first place. She noticed Serena raise an eyebrow at her silence. Yeah, she didn't think she could afford to lose too much more of her credibility.

So, for once, she stepped into her leader shoes and faced the fire. "Why would you ever tell me to do that?"

"That wasn't the question. I merely asked what you would do."

Mina narrowed her eyes, irritation building. "I understand that. You, however, need to understand that even though you may be merely asking a question, I still take what you just said _very_ seriously."

"It was meant…well, not in the context you mean, Venus. I was just trying to get a more straightforward answer from you about the whole jumping off bridges thing," Serena said sincerely, or mockingly. Since Mina couldn't tell which, she couldn't really respond defensively.

She found herself hesitant, but finally saying, "Still, it depends."

"On what?"

Ah, now she could get defensive. "Why does it matter?"

"Why doesn't it matter?"

"Don't psychoanalyze me, Serena. You're the only one who finds it amusing," Mina growled, visually spotting her bag so that if she had to make a hasty retreat from the training room, she could do so.

"Mina, I'm just looking for an answer."

Something in her voice almost made Mina take a step back. It had sounded like sadness mixed with exasperation: almost like complaining. For some strange reason she couldn't place, it made her feel uncomfortable to even stand there. She felt intrusive, or perhaps shameful.

She stared at her shoes. "I guess it would depend on the circumstances of the situation. It's not a no, but it's not a yes. Happy?"

"No."

With that, Serena turned around and resumed her cheetah sprints once more, leaving Mina feeling…indifferent. She should have phrased that better; she knew how her leader felt about guesses. But she held firmly that her guess was better than the truth. She was sure that Serena would appreciate an 'I don't know,' even less.

Could she kill Serena if she asked her to?

She didn't know.

Sighing, Mina walked over to her bag and balanced it on her shoulder. She shouldn't even be thinking of such _stupid_ things. She would never be called into that sort of situation. The mere thought was…_stupid._ How many stupid conversations would she and Serena get into? They all resulted in the same way-she ended up looking like a complete moron, and her leader got all pissed even though she got exactly what she wanted.

As she walked through the doorway, she heard a stern, "Mina!"

Obediently, she stopped. She was startled at this, but this time she would bury it. She was so tired of looking _stupid_.

She turned. "Yes?"

Serena was staring at the ceiling, biting her lip with a whimsical expression on her face. Odd behavior, Mina noted, but when was Serena ever normal?

"I'm grateful."

Mina just stared. "Uh…What?"

Serena said nothing. Instead, she reached over and grabbed her mp3 player from the table and blasted some music, ignoring everyone and everything else.

Mina had no surprise to hide.

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><p>Well, leave a review letting me know what you thought!<p>

I'm off to watch JAWS...again...

Stay well!

-Fishyscales ;)


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